Nas & DJ Premier: The iconic duo’s ‘Light-Years’ album drops next month
The wait’s really almost over - getting a fire Nas and DJ Premier collaboration is one thing. But how about a collaborative studio effort? Oh yes. Light-Years on deck? Escobar season has returned.
Nas and DJ Premier’s ‘Light-Years’ album is almost here-here
Forget being pumped, geeked out lit - it’s all about anticipation and epic expectations for Nasir Jones and Premo teaming up for their studio gem. Is it December 12 yet? Peep the deets from the Mass Appeal team.
GRAMMY-Award winning rap icon Nas and DJ Premier —two of the most influential and revered figures in hip-hop history—announced their highly anticipated collaborative album Light-Years is set to release on December 12th via Mass Appeal. Pre-Save HERE.
After decades of anticipation, Light-Years is a 30-year working legacy reborn. Nas and DJ Premier’s partnership is embedded in the DNA of Hip-Hop. Their origin story began in 1994 with Illmatic, which resulted in hits such as “N.Y. State Of Mind,” “Memory Lane” and “Represent.” Illmatic helped establish Nas as a generational talent and furthered Premier’s then burgeoning legacy. Their chemistry deepened over the next decade through classics like “I Gave You Power,” 2nd Childhood,” “Nas Is Like” and “N.Y. State Of Mind Pt. II.”
Fans can access limited physical product available now at shop.massappeal.com and other indie retailers.
Spearheaded by Mass Appeal’s groundbreaking Legend Has It..., a series celebrating and spotlighting some of the most important and influential Hip Hop artists of all time, the series has gifted a year long run of historic releases from culture defining artists including; Slick Rick, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Mobb Deep, Big L & De La Soul. With Light-Years, Nas and DJ Premier deliver the grand finale to close out the legendary series where their undeniable synergy remains elusive.
In 2006, Nas and DJ Premier appeared on the cover of Scratch Magazine, teasing a joint project that again refueled fan frenzy and two decades worth of anticipation. Last year, Nas and Preem linked up to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Illmatic with the release of a new track, “Define My Name,” where they first announced their landmark collaborative album.
Light-Years is a true testament to both artists' influence, legacy and the timelessness of the music they create together.
About Nas
Nas (Nasir Jones) first reached an international audience when his track “Halftime” was tapped by producer MC Serch as the opening cut on 1992’s Zebrahead movie soundtrack. Signed to Columbia Records, the first full-length album by poet and rhyme-master Nas arrived in 1994, Illmatic. The RIAA platinum hip-hop landmark featured “It Ain’t Hard To Tell,” “The World Is Yours,” and “One.” 1996 brought the breakthrough double-platinum It Was Written (#1 R&B for 7 weeks, #1 pop for 4 weeks), with his first major crossover singles “Street Dreams” and “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That).” Success continued with the double-platinum I Am in 1999 (again #1 pop and #1 R&B), with the chart singles “Nas Is Like,” “Hate Me Now” (featuring Puff Daddy), and “You Won’t See Me Tonight” (featuring Aaliyah).
Subsequent albums by Nas included: the RIAA platinum Nastradamus (1999, #2 R&B, #7 pop, with “Nastradamus” and “You Owe Me,” featuring Ginuwine); the platinum Stillmatic (2001, #1 R&B, #5 pop, with “Got Ur Self A…,” “ “One Mic,” and “Rule”); the platinum God’s Son (2002, #1 R&B, with huge R&B/pop crossover hits “Made You Look” and “I Can”); and the platinum double-CD Street’s Disciple (2004, #2 R&B, #5 pop, with “Bridging the Gap” and “Just a Moment”). And his 2012 album, Life Is Good earned him 4 Grammy nominations including Rap Album of the Year and is certified RIAA gold.
Over the years, Nas has also been the featured guest on a number of crossover hits by other artists, among them: Allure (“Head Over Heels,” 1997); Missy Elliott (the #1 “Hot Boyz,” 1999); fellow Queensbridge rapper Mobb Deep (“It’s Mine,” 1999); Jagged Edge (“I Got It 2,” 2002); J-Lo (“I’m Gonna Be Alright,” 2002); Kanye West (“Classic (Better Than I’ve Ever Been),” 2006); DJ Khaled (“Nas Album
Done,” 2016); Swizz Beats (“Echo,” 2018); Jhene Aiko (“10K Hours,” 2020) and others.
In August 2020, Nas released King’s Disease. King’s Disease marked Nas’ first new album in 2 years. The album was entirely produced by Hit-Boy, and Gabriel “G Code” Zardes serves as the albums co-executive producer. The album won “Best Rap Album” at the 2021 GRAMMYs, marking Nas’ first ever GRAMMY win.
In August of 2021, Nas released King’s Disease II, a sequel to the GRAMMY Award winning album. King’s Disease II was executive produced by Nas and Hit-Boy and features collaborations with Eminem, EPMD, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, YG, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Hit-Boy & more. Most recently, the album earned a nomination for “Best Rap Album” at the 64th GRAMMY Awards.
In November 2022, Nas released the third installment of the King’s Disease series. With no features, King’s Disease III was produced by Hit-Boy and executive produced by Nas and Hit-Boy.
In addition to his successful career in music, Nas has pursued a career in motion pictures that began with his co-starring role (alongside DMX) in 1998’s cult classic crime drama Belly, a film by director Hype Williams (with whom Nas has done several music videos). Most recently, he was the executive producer of the 2016 Netflix series The Get Down.
Nas is also the co-founder of Mass Appeal Records.
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